South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1887-06-24
THE USE OF COCA.
The Marvellous Effects or a
Wonderful Drug.
A Consul Tslls How Coca Affects Ma
tive, Of E,uth Amrica

ment Oh state an interesting report upon
the use Of coca in that country aud its
effects upon the inhabitants III. says:
have seen so much recently written
of coca in newspapers and in medical
publications that am impelicd to report
what have learned of the virtues of
this product of South American forests.
With lcathern straps passing around
their forcheads 10 sustain burdens of $50
OF 300 pounds on their backs, fad
these 1.-the, slender natives traversiny
plains and mountains with greater celcr-
ity than the mule l bcstridc, which trav-
els through the livclong day six miles an
hour. Native physicians. c!cvcs OF the
schools OF Paris. concur in assuring me
that this extraordinary capacity for on
durancc of toll aud hunger is to be
ascribed to the use by these viagcros OF
coca.
1t is administered freely to infants,
and is the chief intoxicant Of men and
women. Youths through many days
are intrusied with the care of valuable
focks of llamas, having no other sus-
tenancc than that to be found in little
leathern purses containing coca and it's.
compounds Inlians chew 1t constantly;
theirs, like the maxRlary movements of
tobacco chewcrs, are incessant. From
30 to 20 gramas are consumed daily,
serving unlike tobacco, both as food and
stimulant. Without coca hab tual chew
crs cannot digest food; without it they
are unable to ascend mountains, with
long, rapid strides, never Stacking their
wonderful speed throughout the livelong
day; they will not toll without it; with
out it they enjoy nothing; without it,
practically they cease to live. The, i'm
mediate effect OF chewing coca is perfect
insensibli:y of the interior of thu mouth.
The immediate sensation is that which
one would experience when find NJ that
his mouth had become great void in
somebody clse's heal. had dentist
apply it when extracting the roots of
molar tooth, anI the effect was as de-
scribed. In iians con stantly using coca
finally lose the senses of taste and smell.
They can cat, without rcpusnance,
most disgusting food and drink
most nauseatng draughts; the sensi.
tivcncss of the mucus membrane has
been destroyed. When one goes further
and swallows tho saliva impregnatcd with
the juice of the coca leaf, dclic Gus
sensation of warmth and perfect blessed
ness pervades ones whole being, intellec-
tual, nervous, and physical, and he is
Tapped in the joys of an eiysium.
In doses OF ID to 60 grains, coca pro-
duccs delightful intoxication. Its Joy,
transcend in perfect blcssedncss all
known human delights. A sensation
OF lightncss first supervenes; the air in
hailed is zcphyrs from angels wings;
there are wild imnginings and fantastic
Authorizations and Gorgeous visions, and
then complete insensibility. 1t is intoxi-
cation without drowsiness, without con-
gestion of the brain, involving n sense
is suspended and the coqucro drifts
bodily among the stars. Meanwhile the
muscular system is stimulated to an cx-
traordnary degree. An intellectual ex-
citcment supcrvenc., enabling the "pos-
sesscd" of this dem IN to watch and toll
through s'ecplcss days and nights. No
dreadful headache or more intolerable
nervous nrostration follows.
ut is the most potent nervine, almost,
at mans disposal. Its hygienic proper
ties are disclosed from its physiological
properties" says a Spanish NJ. D., who
adds that in hot infusion it is the one
useful and heathful beverage one can
use after dinner. Especially is it COM
mcnded to the feeble, to those who have
transcribed limits of sobricty in using
alcohol. Its virtues should be tested,
therefore, in incbriate asylums. It sure.
ly Gains nervous cxcitabilty of many,
and, taken in small guam titles, enables
Que to endure cold and rain and STOW.
and it enables one to defy great fatigue,
and restores the forces lost by exccsse,
1t Is popuary used for indigestion, for
disoriercd stomachs, for hystcria, fla;u-
lency, and collie, an all forms Of intcs-
final disorders. II is used constantly by
toilcrs in mines, and when one reaches
the mines after marching several days
through forests and over mountains, sus-
taiucd alone by the use Of coca and
maize, Inc is permitted to cat Mt discrc-
tion through four days and have perfect
rest. Then he is in perfect health anil
"iresh aud fat" says the writer above
quoted.
Cocaismo--habitull intoxication by
use OF coca-more easily becomes ha-
bitual and incurable than alcoholism ?.
addiclivcness to opiatcs. It's consc-
quenccs, however, are not wholly meas ,.
urcd or comprchendcd. excessive and
constant use Of this iu,oxicant begets
rapidly moral aud intellectual derre.
dation AMI decay; steady decline is
interrupted at intcrvh s by rssistl css
impulses to do most violent aud brutal
acts. TIC nature Of the father. a, per.
vcr,ed by tho drug, is transmitted %
fho child ouI H. ;...f.-,